Plane Crash Victim`s Daughter Files Suit

The daughter of a Delray Beach man killed in a May 28 airplane crash in the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge has filed suit against the dead pilot`s estate and the owner of the aircraft.

The fatal crash into a swampy section of the refuge occurred when South Carolina pilot Paul Simon unsuccessfully attempted to fly the twin-engine Piper Seneca under power lines, officials have said.

Federal investigators said the tail struck the lowest power line, causing the plane to nose-dive into an alligator-infested area.

A fisherman came across the wreckage four days after the plane took off from Lantana Airport. The bodies of Simon, 30, who also used the name Robert L. Millard, and his passengers, William Prince, 41, and Cynthia Flister, 32, both of Delray Beach, were identified through dental records.

The trio had headed west from Lantana so Prince could photograph the sunset over Lake Okeechobee, officials said.

The suit, filed in West Palm Beach on behalf of Prince`s daughter, Emily Angela Prince, a minor, claims Simon was negligent and reckless in attempting to fly under the power lines.

The suit seeks damages in excess of $5,000 from Resorts Storage Management Inc., address unknown, which owned the plane flown by Simon. The lawsuit also names the dead pilot as a defendant.

An emergency hearing is scheduled this morning so West Palm Beach lawyer Richard Schuler can ask that the plane wreckage be preserved for evidence at trial.